FAQ

Questions :
Can freighting meat to Sweden from the other side of the world really be an environmentally friendly alternative?

Answers:
When considering the environmental impact, we need to calculate the total energy consumption involved in producing beef and transporting it to where it is eaten. Meat from South America comes out extremely well in studies of meat produced in various locations and eaten in Sweden. This is because the quantity of energy required to produce concentrated fodder and heat cow houses massively exceeds the energy consumption associated with environmentally friendly transport by boat. Irrespective of the system of production, beef cattle in Sweden have to be foddered for approx. 7 months a year, which entails significant energy consumption. The structure of Swedish production with relatively small farms often in remote locations results in a high transport distance per animal. In Brazil, the farms are so large that transport from farm to slaughterhouse is efficient. Naturkött® meat is transported to Sweden in large, modern container ships, ready packed. The energy consumption per kilo involved in this method of handling is extremely low. The extensive form of production practised in Uruguay and Brazil means that the animals are outside all year and eat only grass, never concentrated fodder.

Answers
Customer Service

Questions :
Why are your Naturkött® products not organic?

Answers:
Our meat is not organic for two reasons. We allow the pastures to be fertilised, primarily to provide an effective use of land, but also for the pasture to be good enough for the meat to satisfy our quality standards. An organic label also requires a great deal of bureaucracy, which we have considered unnecessary as our production is already conducted in a natural way.

Answers
Customer Service

Questions :
Are Naturkött® products healthier than other meat?

Answers:
As Naturkött® products come exclusively from animals that are reared naturally, we believe this provides the conditions for meat that is good for our health. Recent research also suggests that meat from animals that mainly eat grass contains a significantly higher proportion of beneficial omega-3 fatty acids than meat from animals reared on e.g. cereals. A high proportion of omega-3 is generally considered to counter cardiovascular disease, lower lipids and have anti-inflammatory effects. From this perspective at least, we therefore dare to claim that Naturkött® is healthier than the majority of beef produced in Sweden. Read more at: http://www2.slu.se/forskning/fakta/faktajordbruk/pdf02/Jo02-11.pdf

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Customer Service

Questions :
What is ‘precooked’?


Answers:
Precooked is the name we give to our cooked products. They are either boiled or grilled, so only need to be heated or defrosted.

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Customer Service

Questions :
Which products can be eaten without being heated

Answers:
All our precooked products can be eaten cold but those that are most delicious cold are our grilled salad chicken, grilled chicken fillet and grilled chicken breast fillet.

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Customer Service

Questions :
I would like to know whether your Happy Chef products are Halal, especially the chicken products. If so, I am also curious to hear more about the process

Answers:
Our Thai chicken suppliers are certified for halal chicken production by the Central Islamic Committee in Thailand. This means that production is carried out in accordance with Islamic rules. The chickens receive an electric shock before their throats are cut. Our Happy Chef beef products are not halal.

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Customer Service

Questions :
Should I cut the fat away before cooking?

Answers:
No, we don't recommend doing this as the fat gives the meat more flavour.

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Customer Service

Questions :
Why don't you provide nutritional information on NATURKÕTT® products?

Answers:
Eftersom kött är en naturlig produkt varierar en produkts näringsvärden över säsong plus att det finns en naturlig variation. För ungefärliga näringsvärden, besök Livsmedelsverkets webbplats. Våra produkter under varumärket Happy Chef® är märkta med näringsvärden.

Answers
Customer Service

Questions :
How do you guarantee the quality of the products?

Answers:
- We demand at least the same high standard of quality at our production facilities as at equivalent Swedish facilities. - Our producers are regularly checked by inspectors from Sweden and the EU. We have staff on site in South America who continuously check that our producers are complying with our requirements. All the animals come from selected suppliers who are also quality-certified in accordance with programmes recognised by the international organisation IFS (International Food Standards). Examples of programmes include BRC, Efsis and IFS. The controls carried out in connection with slaughtering, cutting up and packing are meticulous, and no meat is packed without first having been tested for possible presence of salmonella, E.coli and other bacteria. Of the hundreds of approved exporting producers in South America, only the very best produce Naturkött® products. This means we can always guarantee the same high quality when you buy your meat. - We document everything we promise. This documentation is always available to those we work with. - The Naturkött® label on the product is a guarantee of the high quality of the meat we sell.

Answers
Customer Service

Questions :
Can freighting meat to Sweden from the other side of the world really be an environmentally friendly alternative?

Answers:
When considering the environmental impact, we need to calculate the total energy consumption involved in producing beef and transporting it to where it is eaten. Meat from South America comes out extremely well in studies of meat produced in various locations and eaten in Sweden. This is because the quantity of energy required to produce concentrated fodder and heat cow houses massively exceeds the energy consumption associated with environmentally friendly transport by boat. Irrespective of the system of production, beef cattle in Sweden have to be foddered for approx. 7 months a year, which entails significant energy consumption. The structure of Swedish production with relatively small farms often in remote locations results in a high transport distance per animal. In Brazil, the farms are so large that transport from farm to slaughterhouse is efficient. NATURKÕTT® meat is transported to Sweden in large, modern container ships, ready packed. The energy consumption per kilo involved in this method of handling is extremely low. The extensive form of production practised in Uruguay and Brazil means that the animals are outside all year and where the main source of feed is grass, never concentrated fodder.

Answers
Customer Service

Questions :
How can fresh meat from South America have such good keeping qualities - is it irradiated

Answers:
We label our consumer-packed products with a keeping life of 100-120 days from production and vacuum-packing, which many people consider to be a long time. There are three main reasons why we are able to achieve this: 1.Hygiene: The producers we engage to produce products for NATURKÕTT® are selected because they are leaders in quality assurance, attaching great importance, among other things, to ensuring that the hygienic conditions for slaughtering and cutting up the meat are extremely high. 2. Transport and storage temperature: The meat is transported from South America in cooltainers in environmentally efficient ships. During the 30-35 days' transportation time, the meat is stored at a temperature of -1 to -1.5 degrees C (meat freezes at -1.7 degrees C). Very little bacterial growth occurs at these low temperatures. On arrival the goods are received and checked by our own staff at our own warehouse. Usually when the meat reaches our customers, 50 days of the keeping life have elapsed, all under conditions termed 'deep-frozen storage'. Tests we have carried out show that storing meat at +4 degrees C for the remainder of the keeping life enables us to clear all the limit values with a very good margin. 3. Selection of ingredient: The meat's pH value is an important parameter in our criteria for selecting animals to be labelled as NATURKÕTT®. The pH value of the meat depends, among other things, on avoiding stress for the animals in connection with transport to and handling at the slaughterhouse. If the meat has a pH value higher than 5.8, it cannot become NATURKÕTT®, as values in excess of this have a negative effect on the keeping qualities, and are a sign that the animal has not enjoyed a stress-free environment - so our regular pH measurements serve more than one purpose. Our own staff in South America monitor compliance with our criteria. These are the only 'secrets' of our meat's keeping qualities (in combination with the vacuum technology of course); there are no other explanations. We carry out regular tests on our products, and problems with keeping qualities only arise in situations where the meat has not been stored in accordance with our instructions, either in shops or by the consumer

Answers
Customer Service

Questions :
How do NATURKÕTT® products impact on the rainforests?

Answers:
Beef production is falling throughout Europe, and we are no longer self-sufficient. At the same time, imports of high-quality beef from South America, and Brazil in particular, are increasing rapidly. Brazilian legislation stipulates that only 20% of the area of farms in the rainforest area (the Amazon Rainforest) may be used as arable/pasture land; 80% must be set aside for native species of trees. Land use in relation to forest is also strictly regulated in the rest of Brazil, which among other things has resulted in land that was being cultivated 50-100 years ago being reforested. We take care of our rainforest and have a strong sense of our environmental responsibility in Brazil. Representatives of the Brazilian meat industry often ask us how we look after our own forests in Sweden and the Nordic region, and this is a question that certainly gives food for thought. A majority of Brazil's meat production takes place in non-rainforest areas. In order to avoid contributing to destruction of the rainforest, North Trade does not purchase any meat that has been produced in these areas. We also conduct ongoing dialogue with our suppliers on this issue.

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Customer Service

Questions :
What does "humane slaughter" mean and how do slaughter methods differ in Sweden and South America?

Answers:
Animals that produce NATURKÕTT® are slaughtered in such a way as to minimise the risk of stress to the animals. This means that the animals are always kept together in the groups they have lived with. The animals are kept in good condition, with farmers and transporters subject to severe economic penalties if any problems are discovered when the animals arrive at the slaughterhouse. The slaughterhouses that produce NATURKÕTT® are state of the art and of a very high standard, comparing well with the best European and Swedish slaughterhouses. Naturally all our producers comply with EU slaughtering requirements. Our criteria specify a maximum time of 8 hours for transport to the slaughterhouse, but it is usually considerably less than this. The transporter must ensure that the animals are given water and rest as required. Transporters who neglect their duties are given only one further chance before being closed down. At the slaughterhouse the animals are never kept in stalls for more than 12 hours waiting to be slaughtered. They are not fed in this period, but have unrestricted access to water at all times. If a circumstance should arise that extends the waiting period, the slaughterhouses we work with have access to pastures adjacent to the stalls where the animals can be turned out to graze.

Answers
Customer Service

Questions :
Are the calves able to stay with their mothers and, if so, for how long?

Answers:
Yes, the calves are able to stay with their mothers until they are approx. six months old. At that age they are able to get the nutrition they need from grazing and are therefore weaned.

Answers
Customer Service

Questions :
Are adult bulls allowed to roam freely and do they have nose-rings?

Answers:
Yes, the bulls used to service the cattle naturally are also allowed to roam freely. We haven't seen nose-rings in any of the bulls but we can't guarantee that they aren't used.

Answers
Customer Service

Questions :
Are Naturkött® products checked for antibiotics, fertiliser residues, etc.?

Answers:
Före vakuumförpackning kontrolleras köttet avseende pH, bakterieflora (TVC) och restprodukter av exempelvis antibiotika. Antibiotika används för övrigt mycket mer sparsamt än vad fallet är i mer intensiva uppfödningsformer, helt enkelt p.g.a. att djuren inte blir sjuka i samma omfattning i denna form av uppfödning där djuren inte på samma sätt blir utsatta för främmande bakteriekulturer. Dessutom har North Trade ett egenkontrollprogram som innebär att varje leverantörs varor vid ankomsten till Sverige stickprovsmässigt men regelbundet kontrolleras med avseende på salmonella, EHEC etc.

Answers
Customer Service

Questions :
At what age are the animals castrated?

Answers:
Castration usually takes place before the calves reach the age of nine months; however, in the case of NATURKÕTT® eco-labelled meat, it is carried out at the age of three months.

Answers
Customer Service

Questions :
Are NATURKÕTT® products healthier than other meat?

Answers:
As NATURKÕTT® products come exclusively from animals that are reared naturally, we believe this provides the conditions for meat that is good for our health. Recent research also suggests that meat from animals that mainly eat grass contains a significantly higher proportion of beneficial omega-3 fatty acids than meat from animals reared on e.g. cereals. A high proportion of omega-3 is generally considered to counter cardiovascular disease, lower lipids and have anti-inflammatory effects. From this perspective at least, we therefore dare to claim that NATURKÕTT® is healthier than the majority of beef produced in Sweden. Read more at: http://www2.slu.se/forskning/fakta/faktajordbruk/pdf02/Jo02-11.pdf

Answers
Customer Service